Hosting Goals: Throw the Best Party Yet

Lifestyle
| 01 November 2017

Feeling the pressure? Follow these tips for a guaranteed showstopper.

La Vallée Village

You can’t wing a good party - fact. You can make it look like you pulled it off effortlessly with minimal help, but the reality is that if you want to secure your place on the calendar for next year, you’d better plan, plan some more, and execute your vision to the highest degree. RSVP-ing yes is a major commitment amongst a sea of other invites, so we hate to say it, but the pressure is on.

1. Create your party concept

We have a friend who brought an inspiration deck to a hairdresser appointment – if she’s doing that for a new ‘do, you’d better be doing it for your party. Think about the type of mood you want to cultivate; will it be a themed event or something more low-key, a lunch or a dinner, a full-on dance party or prohibition-style cocktails. Once you’ve set your guiding light, things like food, drinks and music will all fall into place. Don’t forget to get a hashtag trending for everyone to share their snaps from the evening.

2. Draft in help

You can’t host and serve food, pour drinks, greet latecomers and man the decks. The biggest pitfall of hosting is succumbing to the myth that you need to wear all the hats, all the time. In fact, your guests will appreciate you more if you’re available to them – after all, you’re the reason they’re there. Enrol your partner, cousins, friend’s children, your own, or if – you’re feeling fly – professional help to take the pressure off.

3. Curate your guest list

There’s a reason you have different friend groups—they’re all multi-faceted and not everyone sees eye to eye all the time. There’s nothing worse than spending the whole evening anticipating a disagreement or making excuses for your socially awkward, opinionated or a-little-too-merry friends, so just don’t invite them. Reason away any guilt by knowing that less stress means more fun for you – and remember, ignorance is bliss.

4. Set a curfew

It might sound strange to set an end time for your party, but if you’re hosting in your own place with your own life to get back to the next day, you’ll relish the power of setting boundaries. When you – and your guests – have clear parameters, it sets the course for the evening. We’re not saying you need to manhandle people out the door at one-minute-past whatever, but you can start to wind down the festivities by lowering the music, flicking on some more lights and yawning a lot. Party bags filled with festive goodies also tend to go down well.

5. Use clever tactics

We all have that one friend or family member who goes, let’s say, a little overboard during the festive season. If you were unable to keep them off the guest list (seriously, no shame) then get clever with your tactics. A bottle filled with watered-down spirits will help pace the merriness without confrontation. Things getting out of hand? Have a plan B ready to launch so you can quickly move the party to the local pub or bar if needs be. A change in music, menu or lightning can also help direct energy and keep things in check.